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Tour de France tech: Speed gear from the team time trial

Tour de France tech: Speed gear from the team time trial

Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) is hoping his time trialing ability will earn him another chance at the top step of the podium in this year's Tour de France

James Huang/BikeRadar

Evans stands an average 1.74m (5ft 9in) tall but his time trial bar position is extraordinarily low, prompting team sponsors Canyon to modify one of their Speedmax frames to suit

James Huang/BikeRadar

The two-piece clamshell-type stem clamps to the middle of the steerer tube

James Huang/BikeRadar

The bolt spacing matches up perfectly with a standard Ritchey faceplate

James Huang/BikeRadar

A shallow aluminium dummy cap makes for an extremely short steerer tube length and allows the mechanics to properly preload the headset bearings

James Huang/BikeRadar

The cutout in the head tube doesn't allow for a huge range of motion but given the speeds involved in time trialing we don't expect Evans will ever have to turn the bars very far

James Huang/BikeRadar

Evans' Canyon Speedmax CF Pro frame also features an interesting bottom bracket construction that lets the frame designers widen the down tube and spread apart the chainstays for more rigidity but still allow for a standard threaded bottom bracket

James Huang/BikeRadar

The Cervélo Test Team feared the UCI would declare the P4's unique flush-mounted proprietary water bottle illegal on the starting line so it modified some Elite aero carbon fibre bottle cages to fit in the uniquely sized recess

James Huang/BikeRadar

An extra hole at the bottom plus a short aluminium stub is all that's required to secure the cage to the frame but that aluminium stub also apparently prevents the bottle from fully inserting into the cage

James Huang/BikeRadar

Hmm, this doesn't look particularly good. Why all the fuss?

James Huang/BikeRadar

Riders were reportedly having trouble with bottle retention on their reconnaissance rides so team mechanics and staff had to make some last-minute modifications to get the bottles to stay put

James Huang/BikeRadar

The solution? A short strip of Velcro to help hold the bottle to the cage

James Huang/BikeRadar

Agritubel switched their helmet sponsor this year to French outfit Ekoi, who provided the team with these surprisingly economical Chrono lids

James Huang/BikeRadar

The rear of the helmet is fully enclosed (proven in the wind tunnel by several teams to be faster than an open bottom) and the dial-type retention system looks easy to use

James Huang/BikeRadar

Milram mechanics looked quite at ease prior to the start of the team time trial, with all bikes fully prepped and ready to go

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

A team mechanic seals the valve access hole with white tape, then draws in the spokes with a marker. Not a shabby job, either, considering he was doing the work freehand and with an upside-down view

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

A small square of tape also covers up the rear derailleur hanger mounting bolt

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

There's also another bit of tape up by the rear section of brake housing where it exits the frame, but what for?

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

Milram bicycle supplier Focus have apparently given their time trial frames a bit more room out back so they can now accommodate the sponsor-correct SRAM Red brake caliper

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

Andy Walser's time trial frames have been long considered some of the best of the breed but it would be interesting to see how their drag figures compare to some more contemporary designs

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) is hoping his time trialing ability will earn him another chance at the top step of the podium in this year's Tour de France

James Huang/BikeRadar

Evans stands an average 1.74m (5ft 9in) tall but his time trial bar position is extraordinarily low, prompting team sponsors Canyon to modify one of their Speedmax frames to suit

James Huang/BikeRadar

The two-piece clamshell-type stem clamps to the middle of the steerer tube

James Huang/BikeRadar

The bolt spacing matches up perfectly with a standard Ritchey faceplate

James Huang/BikeRadar

A shallow aluminium dummy cap makes for an extremely short steerer tube length and allows the mechanics to properly preload the headset bearings

James Huang/BikeRadar

The cutout in the head tube doesn't allow for a huge range of motion but given the speeds involved in time trialing we don't expect Evans will ever have to turn the bars very far

James Huang/BikeRadar

Evans' Canyon Speedmax CF Pro frame also features an interesting bottom bracket construction that lets the frame designers widen the down tube and spread apart the chainstays for more rigidity but still allow for a standard threaded bottom bracket

James Huang/BikeRadar

The Cervélo Test Team feared the UCI would declare the P4's unique flush-mounted proprietary water bottle illegal on the starting line so it modified some Elite aero carbon fibre bottle cages to fit in the uniquely sized recess

James Huang/BikeRadar

An extra hole at the bottom plus a short aluminium stub is all that's required to secure the cage to the frame but that aluminium stub also apparently prevents the bottle from fully inserting into the cage

James Huang/BikeRadar

Hmm, this doesn't look particularly good. Why all the fuss?

James Huang/BikeRadar

Riders were reportedly having trouble with bottle retention on their reconnaissance rides so team mechanics and staff had to make some last-minute modifications to get the bottles to stay put

James Huang/BikeRadar

The solution? A short strip of Velcro to help hold the bottle to the cage

James Huang/BikeRadar

Agritubel switched their helmet sponsor this year to French outfit Ekoi, who provided the team with these surprisingly economical Chrono lids

James Huang/BikeRadar

The rear of the helmet is fully enclosed (proven in the wind tunnel by several teams to be faster than an open bottom) and the dial-type retention system looks easy to use

James Huang/BikeRadar

Milram mechanics looked quite at ease prior to the start of the team time trial, with all bikes fully prepped and ready to go

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

A team mechanic seals the valve access hole with white tape, then draws in the spokes with a marker. Not a shabby job, either, considering he was doing the work freehand and with an upside-down view

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

A small square of tape also covers up the rear derailleur hanger mounting bolt

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

There's also another bit of tape up by the rear section of brake housing where it exits the frame, but what for?

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

Milram bicycle supplier Focus have apparently given their time trial frames a bit more room out back so they can now accommodate the sponsor-correct SRAM Red brake caliper

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

Andy Walser's time trial frames have been long considered some of the best of the breed but it would be interesting to see how their drag figures compare to some more contemporary designs

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

Image 1 of 20

Before yesterday's fourth stage of the Tour de France kicked off in Montpellier, BikeRadar's technical editor James Huang was scouring the pits to check out the latest kit on display and find out what was flustering the team mechanics. Here's what he spotted...

Cadel Evans' special Canyon Speedmax CF Pro

ProTour time trial riders are among the absolute best in the world at achieving and maintaining a low, narrow and aerodynamic position on their machines. Cadel Evans' (Silence-Lotto) bar position is especially low however – his base bar sits just 60mm of so over the top of the front tyre – and has presented some setup problems in years past.

Last season, the Aussie's Ridley Dean sported an ultra-short head tube plus a pivoting stem angled sharply downwards to secure his Oval Concepts bar. This year's Canyon Speedmax CF Pro uses a far more radical – and very clever – solution: instead of attaching the stem atop the head tube as normal, Canyon cut out about 40mm from the front of the head tube to make room for a custom two-piece fixed-position stem clamped to the middle of the steerer. Capping the top is a custom aluminium bit that both seals the head tube and provides a way to preload the headset bearings.

This creation isn't as slick looking as the front-end setups used by the likes of Giant, Specialized, Trek and Felt. But even those wouldn't allow for such an extreme position as Evans' and it's far more important to put a rider's body in an aerodynamic and efficient position as it produces the overwhelming majority of the total system drag. Remarkably, Silence-Lotto mechanics still managed to route the cables in a fairly clean arrangement, too.

Readers might be surprised to hear that Canyon plan to offer this frame configuration to the public. It's apparently safe to ride but the deleted material can't do wonders for front-end rigidity. However, given the UCI's recent rulings regarding the consumer availability of team race bikes, Canyon have no choice but to bring it to market in order for Evans to use it in competition.

Cervélo Test Team mechanics scramble for last minute fix

Cervélo Test Team mechanics were seen scrambling about their pit area making some uncharacteristically last-minute modifications to each rider's Cervélo P4 barely two hours before their riders' scheduled start time.

The problem appeared to centre around the team's modified carbon fibre bottle cages, which apparently wouldn't hold on to the matching aero bottles tightly enough over stage 4's occasional bumps. The P4's stock proprietary bottle and cage system would have been fine in this respect but the team had heard that the UCI might take issue with its flush-fit design and instead went with an Elite aero system that the team tweaked to work.

Those modifications wouldn't quite let the matching bottle fully snap into its receptacle as usual though, and given the timing, removing and re-machining the short aluminium plates used to secure the cage to the frame wasn't an option. The solution? Short strips of adhesive-backed Velcro added in between the bottle and cage for extra grip – and of course, the team mechanics had some in the truck.

In the end, the team appear to have come across the finish line with all bottles on hand but the situation was obviously far from ideal. Rest assured that the mechanics will have something more proper figured out before the final individual time trial round at Lac d'Annecy on 23 July.

Agritubel look within their borders for new team time trial helmet

Agritubel have switched their helmet sponsor from Spain-based Spiuk to French outfit Ekoi. Though the team's specially painted bright gold metallic aero helmets were impossible to miss during the team time trial around Montpellier, what lies beneath is surprisingly reasonably priced for the sport-level rider.

Ekoi sell their Chrono helmet direct from their website for just 109 euros (£95/US$152) yet it offers a reasonable 305g weight, an easy-to-use dial-type retention system, plus an in-moulded shell with a fully enclosed lower rear section, which multiple sources suggest notably reduces drag relative to an open design.

In contrast to most aero helmets currently on the market with a minimal number of vents such as Giro's latest creation and the Specialized TT2, the Chrono sports about a dozen openings to bring in cooling air – good for rider comfort but perhaps not the best for keeping drag to an absolute minimum.

That may be, but given the everyman pricing it's hard to complain. Ekoi offer the Chrono in four different colours – pink, bright green and white with either blue or red accents – but unless you land a contract with Agritubel, you can't have gold.

Milram mechanics go to the tape

Cycling fans generally think of ProTour race bikes as exquisitely tuned and white-glove-clean with cutting-edge engineering and a good dose of black magic tossed in for good measure. For the most part that holds true (the top-level mechanics do truly extraordinary work that deserves more recognition than it receives) but even the best cared-for examples are occasionally shod with a few extra zip ties and electrical tape (see above).

Milram's mechanics were surprisingly light-hearted just prior to the team time trial start yesterday afternoon in Montpellier, their work completed in advance with everything checked and double-checked and everything generally in order. In fact, about the only thing left for the mechanics to do (apart from loading into follow cars in the event of a mishap, of course) was tape over the valve access holes in the team's Lightweight rear disc wheels.

Instead of just using fat pieces of white tape to match the disc surface's base colour, though, team mechanic Filip [sorry, we don't know his surname and weren't able to obtain it prior to posting time] was hand drawing in the missing black lines normally seen on the rest of the wheel – an unnecessary extra perhaps but still a nice finishing touch.

More tape (this time black) was found covering up the mounting bolt for the rear derailleur hanger and the exit point at the top tube for the aft section of rear brake housing. Filip had disappeared by the time we noticed it so we couldn't ask what they were for but they're intriguing nonetheless. A fraction of a gram less drag? Cosmetics? We'll look into it and report back.